Red Stripe use of Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is apparently working
out well for them.
This
as they’ve decided to invest an additional US$10 million over the next five (5)
years in Cassava (Manihot esculenta) production
as stated in “Red
Stripe to invest US$10 million over 5 years”, published Monday, October 13,
2014, The Jamaica Observer.
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Red Stripe’s investment is to ensure a
continuous supply of the root tuber, which is used as a replacement or imported
Hops from Barley and Wheat and HMCS (High Maltose Corn Syrup) and HFCS (High
Fructose Corn Syrup) as noted in the article “Red
Stripe to invest US$10 in Cassava for Beer production”, published Thursday,
October 09, 2014 3:57 PM, The Jamaica
Observer.
This
will result in significant cost reduction, as these imported inputs into making
Red strip Beer and other brewed products, are replaced by Cassava (Manihot esculenta) without sacrificing
taste contribute the following percentages to their Importation Bill:
1. 40%
HFCS
2. 60%
Hops from Barley and Wheat
Folks,
this is a really big deal that attracted the attention of the GOJ (Government
of Jamaica) with none other than the Prime Minister of Jamaica Portia.
Prime
Minister Portia Simpson Miller and Minister of Industry, Investment and
Commerce, Anthony Hylton being present at a tour of the Red Stripe’s Spanish Town Facilities
on Wednesday October 8th 2014 as per the report by the Horses'
Mouth, The Jamaica Information Service in
their article “Red Stripe
to Invest US$10 Million Over Five Years”, published October 9, 2014 By
Athaliah Reynolds-Baker, The Jamaica Information Service,
suggests that this is huge deal, as
it’ll generate a lot of employment.
Even
more exciting, they’re planning to export Red Stripe Beer to Ethiopia and Ghana,
where Reggae music is particularly potent and strongly associated with their
Brand as noted in the article “Red
Stripe to enter Africa”, published Wednesday, October 15, 2014 BY TERRON DEWAR Business reporter, The Jamaica Observer.
It
sorta explains why Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Anthony
Hylton is present and not the Acting Minister of Agriculture, Derrick Kellier? Still,
that level of investment suggests something else was at play during that tour
of Red Stripe’s Facilities!
Red Stripe’s Project
Grow – Training some 2,400 Cassava Farmers to Grow Cassava over the next Five
years
Project
Grow was formed originally via a partnership with the Agro-Investment
Corporation to lease 36 acres (14.6 hectares) of land at Bernard Lodge in St
Catherine to grow the first crop of Cassava (Manihot esculenta) as mentioned in my blog article
entitled “Red
Stripe and Agro-Investment Corporation signs lease Agreement on 36 acres of
Land - Farmers benefit from Cassava’s Day in the Sun as we catch up with
Africa's by September 2014”.
Cassava
(Manihot esculenta) from this 36
acres (14.6 hectares) plot managed by Dr. Nickeisha
T.P. Reid, who Red Stripe hired
as their Farm Manager was for the first production of Red Stripe in September 2014, which
originally made its debut in Red Stripe's
very successful inaugural Red Stripe
Beer Festival as declared in my blog article
entitled “Red
Stripe Beer Festival in the Middle of May 2014 a success – Beer Festival an
Annual Event to stave off Sweet Palcohol”.
 |
This
Red Stripe Beer Festival, aside
from securing their market against the powdered competition from Palcohol, also
served their purpose of introducing new Flavours of Red Stripe to the market as well as
the introduction of their 1 liter Red
Stripe Beer and Guinness Brands as stated in my blog article
entitled “Red
Stripe Beer Festival in the Middle of May 2014 a success – Beer Festival an
Annual Event to stave off Sweet Palcohol”.
That
one month Feasibility study that started in January 2014 and ended in February
2014 2013 as stated in “Red
Stripe cassava feasibility study ends in Feb”, published Wednesday, January
30, 2013, The Jamaica Observer. It has apparently worked out well, as with
this investment, they're now moving ahead with an expansion of Project Grow to encompass
the Farmers of Jamaica in growing the Cassava (Manihot esculenta) they need!
 |
Red Stripe has since begun training
some 36 Farmers since Monday September 1st 2014 in a twelve (12)
week training Program on Cassava (Manihot
esculenta) production using training material provided by CARDI (Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute) and delivered
by the HEART Trust/NTA as stated in the
article “Red
Stripe to train, employ 2,400 for Cassava project”, published Wednesday,
September 17, 2014, The Jamaica
Observer.
The
current 36 students enrolled in the HEART Trust/NTA 12 week training Program
will be given a daily stipend of JA$1, 500. They’re expected learn the
rudiments of Cassava (Manihot esculenta)
production as detailed in the CARDI (Caribbean
Agricultural Research & Development Institute) Pdf document UNDERSTANDING
THE CASSAVA (MANIHOT ESCULENTA) PLANT-ITS
GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT, PHYSIOLOGY AND TUBERIZATION PROCESS and then graduate
after passing HEART/NTA final exam in November 2014.
Their
training represents an investment of some JA$10 million under Red Stripe's Project Grow, so they
BETTER graduate, as it'll set the stage for some three hundred (300) persons to
be trained over the next financial year 2015 with the aim to train and employ
some 2,400 persons under Project Grow over the next five(5) years.
Red Stripe’s overall investment, aside
from training, however, is US$10 million over the next five (5) years, that's a
lot of Cassava (Manihot esculenta)
and Sorghum under Project Grow! Sorghum?
That I’ll explain as well as I go along!
Cassava and Sorghum
under Project Grow - Cassava Bread and Wine and HFCS from Sorghum
This
is beginning to look more like an expansion beyond that initial 36 acres (14.6
hectares) that employed some 40 persons employed.
They
may really be ramping up to some 7000 acres (2832.8 hectares) over the next
five (5) years and may end up employing thousands more according to their plans
as mentioned back in January 2014 as mentioned in my blog article
entitled “Red
Stripe and Agro-Investment Corporation signs lease Agreement on 36 acres of
Land - Farmers benefit from Cassava’s Day in the Sun as we catch up with
Africa's by September 2014”.
The
plans is to increase production not only in terms of acreage but also
production efficiency, from the current 10 to 15 tonnes per hectare to 60
tonnes per hectare so as to displace import of Cassava (Manihot esculenta) from Diageo’s, Red Stripe's parent and SABMiller
counterparts in Africa, Brazil and the Philippines.
 |
This
7000 acres (2832.8 hectares) with a production efficiency of 60 tonnes per
hectare would result in some 420,000 cassavas per annum, based on the twelve (12)
month growth cycle of the Cassava (Manihot
esculenta) Plant as gleaned from the
CARDI (Caribbean Agricultural Research &
Development Institute) Pdf document UNDERSTANDING
THE CASSAVA (MANIHOT ESCULENTA)
PLANT-ITS GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT, PHYSIOLOGY AND TUBERIZATION PROCESS .
At
that level of production over a twelve (12) month period, Red Stripe would effectively be mobilizing
a estimated workforce, based on my calculations in next three to five (3)
years:
1.
2,600 Cassava Farmers islandwide
directly
2.
3,750 Cassava Farm Workers indirectly
3.
300 Acres under cultivation initially
4.
2,400 Acres under cultivation in three to
five (3 to 5) Years
Already
they’re’ on target, having spent some US$1 million (J$112 million) on a 300
acre (121.4 hectares) Cassava farm and processing plant in October 2014 as
stated in the article “Red
Stripe pours US$1m into 300-acre cassava farm, processing plant”, published
Wednesday, October 08, 2014 BY
STEVEN JACKSON Business Observer staff reporter, The Jamaica Observer.
That
economy-of-scale would replace some 20% of imports by 2016 once all the
Jamaican farmers in that huge collective of 7,000 hectares are managed
properly. However, US$10 million sounds more like something export-related
being in the works, especially as the Prime Minister of Jamaica Portia Simpson
Miller and Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Anthony Hylton were
present at the tour of the Red Stripe
Spanish Town Facilities.
It
looks like they may be pursing into export of VAS (Value Added Services) products
from
Cassava
(Manihot esculenta) over the next five
(5) years, specifically:
1.
Cassava Flour
2.
Cassava Biscuits e.g. Chips
3.
Cassava Wine
4.
Cassava Beer, very big in Africa
Red Stripe Cassava Beer and Red Stripe Cassava Wine sounds more
feasible as it naturally fits with their Brewed products line, with the Flour
and Biscuits being produced by a third party company, possibly CPJ (Caribbean
Producer Jamaica).
Already
Research with practical applications is well advanced at the UWI (University of the West Indies),
who’ve already demonstrated its feasibility as noted in the article “UWI Science
Team Makes Bread From Cassava Flour”, Published Saturday January 25, 2014, The Jamaica Gleaner.
Red Stripe may also use some of that
acreage to grow Sorghum to make Sugar that they can convert using enzymes into
HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) and HMCS (High Maltose Corn Syrup) to replace
their need for imported HFCS and HMCS. That is, if they also decided to
introduce the growing and production of Sorghum in Jamaica.
According
to the article “Sorghum
- Planting information”, viewed October 17 2014 by Lindsworth Deer, Queensland
Government Department of Agriculture , Fisheries and Forestry , Sorghum takes
approximately two (2) months to reach full maturity and is best Planted in
September or January.
Since
September 2014 is gone, is it a case that we might hear an announcement for
Sorghum in January 2015 for a feasibility study to grow Sorghum in Jamaica? With
this US$10 million investment under Project Grow and exports to Africa on the
Horizon, it may be possible!
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